UPM convocation to be held under strict SOP from Jan 8, says vice-chancellor

SERDANG: A total of 5,695 Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) graduates in various disciplines will receive their scrolls at the 44th convocation ceremony to be held physically under strict standard operating procedures (SOP).

UPM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Roslan Sulaiman (pic) said among the SOP that will be implemented for the duration of the six-day convocation ceremony, beginning on Saturday (Jan 8), was that only 900 graduates would be allowed into the main hall of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Arts and Cultural Centre at UPM, which has a seating capacity of 4,000.

"We have stipulated that only graduates are to be allowed into the hall where the convocation ceremony would take place, while parents or families of students can only send and pick up the graduates," he said in a press conference on the convocation ceremony here Thursday (Jan 6).

"For parents who have travelled from afar, UPM will provide several waiting halls for them till their children's sessions are over. They will be able to witness the ceremony in these halls via live streaming," he said.

Roslan said this was the first UPM convocation ceremony to be held since the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

The convocation will involve a total of 398 recipients of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), master's degree (1,093 recipients), bachelor's degree (3,544) and diploma (660).

"To prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection during the convocation ceremony, UPM will only hold the ceremony in the mornings in order to allow time for sanitisation work to be carried out in the evening for the next session," he said.

Roslan said UPM chancellor, the Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, will confer the PhD, master's degrees and bachelor's degrees as well as diplomas to the graduates in the fifth session on Jan 12.

During the session, Sultan Sharafuddin will promulgate the appointment of the Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Muhamad Zohadie Bardaie, and Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim as UPM pro-chancellors for a period of three years from Oct 18, 2021, to Oct 17, 2024.

Sultan Sharafuddin will also bestow the Chancellor's Gold Medal Prize on Aini Nazihah Hasin@Hassan (Bachelor of Science in Physics with Honours) from the Faculty of Science; Royal Education Award (Bumiputera) to Prince Mohamad Iskandar Jamil (Bachelor of Science in Horticulture) from the Faculty of Agriculture; and the Royal Education Award (Non-Bumiputera) to Chow Heng Yee (Bachelor of Science in Human Development) from the Faculty of Human Ecology.

UPM pro-chancellor Syed Jalaludin will present, in the first session on Saturday (Jan 8), the Alumni Gold Medal to Lim Jia Yie (Bachelor of Environmental Management) from the Faculty of Forestry and Environment; Pak Rashid Foundation Gold Medal to Michelle Tiong Chia Weng (Bachelor of Education - Teaching English as a Second Language), Faculty of Educational Studies; and the Putra Agribio Medal to Muhammad Ali Imran Razali (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Syed Jalaludin will also present the Razlan Putra Medal to Syed Mohamad Syafiq Syed Cholan (Bachelor of Science in Human Development), Faculty of Human Ecology; Shell Station Operator Entrepreneurship Award to Ijlali Husna Alias (Bachelor of Education in Home Science), Faculty of Educational Studies; Tun Abdul Razak Award to Chow Heng Yee (Bachelor of Science in Human Development), Faculty of Human Ecology.

He will present as well the Gold Medal of Doctor of Philosophy Malaysian Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals to Farhatun Najat Maluin (PhD Nanotechnology), Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; Master Gold Medal With Thesis to Sanchez Philip Donald Cabuga (Master of Science in Agricultural Process Engineering), Faculty of Engineering; BasNet Doctor of Philosophy Gold Medal to Dr Nor Sa'adah Jamaluddin (PhD Curriculum and Instruction), Faculty of Educational Studies; and Syed Kechik Prize to Fatimah Marwa Jaapar (Bachelor of Biochemical Science with Honors), Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science.

Roslan said the convocation ceremony also sees 11 graduates of the inaugural Master of Entrepreneurship programme receiving their scrolls in the first session (on Saturday).

He said among the athletes who would graduate at the convocation ceremony were hockey player Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan; Nur Fatihah Mohammad Tahir (shooting); Mohamed Farhan Hafsyam Zahid (athletics); Priyashankari Hari Sankar (karate); Muhamad Hafzan Bakri Md Roni (rugby); Dzafran Asyraf Zainuddin (rugby) and Muhammad Kamal Ishak (sepak takraw). - Bernama